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Terry Vance
Terry Vance, boy detective, and his trusty ape Dr. Watson are working on an experiment when they hear reports of two separate murders that happened around the same time. Terry decides to investigate both, sending Dr. Watson to the location of one, while he goes to the other. At the scene of the first murder, Terry is welcomed by police who let him investigate the crime scene. Spotting a bullet hole in a jacket on a nearby coat rack he reveals that there was a remote control pistol attached to it, and that is where the murderous bullet came from. With no other leads, Terry decides to check and see how Dr. Watson is doing. As he is being driven to the location of the second murder, Dr. Watson stumbles upon a trap door and lands in a secret cavern. He spots a strange man lurking in the shadows and uses his camera to take his photograph. When Terry arrives, Dr. Watson takes the boy into the underground tunnel and listens into a conversation between police inspectors and the murdered mans assistants using his specially listening device. He learns that the wealthy doctor who was murdered apparently had no will and that the property was owned by his wife but he purchased it, and that there was a feud between the doctor and his step son. Hearing someone behind him, Terry turns around with his flashlight and sends the mystery man fleeing deeper into the secret tunnels. Following after, Terry enters a room leading into the house and finds the remains of a burnt piece of paper near a fire place. Using an ultra violet light he exposes what was written on it he finds that it is the remains of the dead doctors will. Taking a picture of it for preservation, he is attacked by the mystery man again, but Dr. Watson knocks the man out. Pulling him into the room where the interrogation continues, Vance reveals the man as the murdered doctors estranged step-son. He explains that he murdered the doctor and his lawyer and destroyed the will in the hopes of getting the inheirtance that was denied to him as the will revealed that the doctors fortune would be given to his aides instead. Terry Vance is at the local race track when one of the cars suddenly crashes. Investigating the crash site, Terry finds mercury on the track and wonders what it's doing there. On his way to take a look at the pictures his ape Dr. Watson took of the crash he runs into some men, and notices when one of them drops a vial of mercury. Finding this suspicious, Terry hides in their trunk, sending Dr. Watson off to collect their friend Deadline Dawson. Hiding in the men's cellar, Vance listens in with his eavesdropping device and overhears how they fix the races with mercury so that they can win bets. Exploring the house, Terry finds a man named the Master Mechanic, a man whom the men force to work on their race car to ensure it's in top performance. Terry is soon caught and bound up in the house by the crooks while they go off to the races to fix another car. Meanwhile, Dr. Watson goes to Deadline Dawson, who by looking up the license plate information on the car that Terry rode off in tracks the crooks house. There they free Terry who then sends both Watson and Dawson to stop the race while he instructs them via radio. Warning the effected drive to pull out of the race, he gets off the track before his wheels fall off. With the crooks apprehended, Terry finds traces of mercury in the cars tires, explaining that the metal would cause enough friction to snap the axles of the vehicles. At an art gallery, Terry Vance and Deadline Dawson are impressed by the artistry of a man who is making copies of the paintings on display. Finding one of the display paintings a little off, Terry decides to take a photograph of it with his hidden camera and examine it at his photo lab. Examining the photo with a picture of the original print, he notices a smudge on the painting. Terry then returns to the museum with his ape, Dr. Watson who confirms his suspicions: the seemingly 400 year old painting still has fresh paint. Kicked out of the museum, Terry follows some paint splattered men, by following them in his car. Following them up to their office, he uses their speaker phone to listen into the conversation and realizes that the men are operating a scheme to smuggle paintings out of the museum and replacing them with fakes. However, Terry is soon caught and tossed down an elevator shaft. Terry manages to save his own life by grabbing the elevator cable and then has Dr. Watson free him from the shaft. Calling Deadline Dawson, Terry meets up with him an a team of reports to catch the crooks in the act. Caught by surprise, the painting smugglers are easily knocked out and turned over to the authorities. Terry is commended for his fine work by captain of the police. Deadline Dawson invites Terry Vance and Dr. Watson to accompany him on his assignment for the Globe Press to interview teen actress Diana Dunn. Learning that Dunn is about to quit acting to continue her education, the two teens go to the site where her latest film is being made. Seeing her being taken away by men in a car, they assume something shady is going on and stops the fleeing vehicle only to learn -- to their embarrassment -- it was only part of the movie she's in. Deciding that women are trouble enough Dawson decides to give up on his assignment and interview Terry instead. When going to take the interview to the paper, they spot what they think is another scene from the movie that Diana is in, but soon realize that it's a real kidnapping using a camera as a decoy. Deciding to help, they follow the kidnappers to their hide out. Sending Dawson off to get the authorities, Terry and Dr. Watson sneak into the house through the cellar. Inside the house, Terry sends Watson to the upper floor through the heating system to create a distraction. Knocking out the lone guard left with Diana the two try to make their escape. Realizing what's going on, the crooks run outside to recapture the kidnapped starlet they run right into the hands of the authorities who promptly arrest them. Terry Vance accompanies his reporter friend Deadline Dawson to cover a human interest story on the state of the slums of New York. While looking around, Terry would come across the dead body of a starving writer. Learning that the last man to see the writer alive was someone who came by two days ago to give him food and candles, Terry decides to stake the place out. That night, Terry witnesses a man breaking into the apartment and searching around. Getting ape to distract and follow the thief, Terry gets Deadline and the police and puts the man on a chase. Following the man back to the apartment, Terry gets the drop on him and disarms him of his gun. At gun point, Terry learns that the man is the writers son, who made poisonous candles to kill his father hoping to steal his story and sell it for a large sum of money. With a written confession made, Terry calls Deadline Dawson and the authorities.